Selvage knitting needle for looms of the double fill loop type



Sept. 24, 1940. uc s 2,216,099

SELVAGE KNITTING NEEDLE FOR LOOMS OF THE DOUBLE, FILL LOOP TYPE OriginalFiled Sept. 29. 1938 1 JQnihan Lucas E'a tented 2"}, 1940 gUNlTEDs'lA-TES SELVAGE 2,210,099 KNITTING NEEDLE FOR LOOMS OF THE;DOUBLE FILL LOOP TYPE v Jonathan Lucas, Savannah, Ga.

Original application September 29, 1938, Serial Divided and thisapplication August 4, 1939, Serial No. 288,440

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the knitting or looping needle employed inlocking the selvage of the cloth produced by the loom, which forms thesubject matter of my pending application, Ser. No. 232,449, filedSeptember 29, 1 938, of which the present application is a division.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a knittingneedle adapted to form an element of the mechanism of a loom of thattype in which a carrier draws a double weft loop through the shed, thefunction of the needle being to loop them one into the other, thusforming selvage.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a latch needle forthe purpose described, having a bifurcated guide between the prongs ofwhich the end of the latch descends when in fully open position, thepurpose of the guide being to draw the loop below the end of the latchso that it will assuredly close the latch upon the rearward stroke ofthe needle.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof a preferred and prac tical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing, throughout the several figures of which the samecharacters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the knitting needle with a looplying across the open latch, the loop moving rearwardly toward theguide;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the loop beneath the guide, theneedle going forward to catch the next loop;

Figure 3 is a similar view in which the needle is in the beginning ofits reverse movement;

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the needle moving in a rearwarddirection, with the first loop having passed from under the guide, beingin the actof closing the latch and being shed over the newly formedloop; and

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the working end of the needle, the baseportion being omitted.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral I representsthe warp yarns constituting the lower side of the shed, 2 being the webadjacent the line of beat-up. the lay is indicated by the referencecharacter 3 and carries the reed 4.

The foregoing elements are characteristic of any loom, but the loom towhich the present invention appertains is of that type in which acarrier 5 enters the shed from one side, catches the loop of a doubleweft thread 6, at center of shed, and draws the latter through the shedpositioning the bight i of the loop at one side of the shed when thecarrier reaches its limit of outward movement. By reference to mypending application hereinbefore identified, it will be ascertained thatthe carrier 5 has a double billed jaw 8 capable a locked of lifting outof the nose portion 9 of the carrier, elevatingwith it the loop I, andreleasing said loop. In this type of weaving, it will be readilyunderstood that unless the loop is in some way locked at the side of theweb to form a selvage, it will draw into the fabric, permitting theweaving to disintegrate.

Although the knitting needle which forms the subject matter of thisdivisional application is adapted to perform in conjunction with anyloom of the double weft loop carrier type, it is herein illustrated inconnection with a loom which produces a very tight looped selvage. Itwill be readily understood from Figure 1 that in the absense of anyother instrumentality, if the jaw 8 of the carrier were to releasetheloop 1, the loop would be extremely large, and produce a loose selvage.It will also be understood that the carrier must be of considerablesize, in the interest of sturdiness, freedom from vibration, and inorder for it to be able to carry the mechanical contrivances whichcontribute to its operation, and which are fully disclosed in the parentapplication. Consequently, it is impossible to reduce the size of thecarrier to the point where the loop carried thereby is small enough toproduce a tight selvage. It, therefore, becomes necessary to transferthe loop from the carrier to another device which will form it into asmall loop, before the needle engages it. Said device comprises a pin l0which projects from the lay 3 in a position to enter between the sidesof the loop when the lay moves forward to beat up the fill. To facili--tate the entrance of the pin l0 between the sides of the loop, thecarrier is so shaped that one strand of the loop is above the other,which in conjunction with the upward movement of the lay insures thatthe pin enters middle of the loop, all as shown in Figure 1.

The carrier and lay are so synchronized that the carrier releases theloop when the pin III is in a position within the loop so that thetensioning of the free end 6 of the loop by the tensioning means of theloom, and which are not shown in this divisional application, draws theloop against the pin, as shown in Figure 2, making a small loop. This isdone prior to the moment of the beat-up and before the crossing of theshed.

The numeral l i represents a cam plate which is between the selvage andthe knitting needle and the function of which is to depress the loop 1to the plane of the web, and to catch the upper strand of it into anotch ii at the moment of beat-up for a purpose which is fully explainedin connection with the loomof the parent application, and which is notparticularly relevant to the exposition of the present invention.

The knitting needle, which as a whole is designated by the referencecharacter l3, reciprocates along the outer side of the cam plate II, andco.

parallel to: the warp of the shed. The knitting needle comprises a shankit having a hook I! atprovided with a guide IS in the form of aforwardly directed hook, theforwardly extending portion 20 of which isspaced from the shank, de-- fining a recess 2 I. The forwardly extendingportion 20 is bifurcated as at 28 in Figure 2, forming prongs 22 and 23which are of sufficient length to embrace the free end of the latch l6,asis clearly shown in Figure 5. The end of the latch is slightly belowthe plane of the upper.

faces of the prongs 22 and 23, and the forward end of said prongs areprovided with a cam curvature 24 so that when a loop rides upon thelatch l6 it will be guided downwardly by the cam curvature of the prongsinto the recess 2|, which is below the level of the free edge of thecam, and the loop will be retained in said recess until, upon theretrogressive movement of the needle, the loop engages the back of thelatch, swings the latch to closed position, and thus escapes from therecess 2| and over the end of the needle. In the needle of an ordinaryhosiery machine, for example, such a precaution as the guide I9 is notessential, for the loop in the hosiery machine is maintained in close,tensioned relationship to the shank of the needle by the sinkers orbitts which flank the needle on both sides. In connection with a loom ofthe double weft looptype, the conditions are altogether different,however, for in the first place the yarns employed are usuallyrelatively coarse and tend to form a stiff round loop, and furthermore,in the absence of the guide, there is nothing to hold the sides of theloop in close tensioned relationship to the shank of the needle.Consequently, in the absence of the guide, there is the liability thatthe loop upon the retrogressive movement of the needle will slide abovethe latch without closing it, instead of contacting the back of thelatch.

The operation of the knitting needle will be readily understood from acontemplation of the figures. It will be assumed that one loop shown inFigure 1- is already on the needle, the needle moving forwardly, and theloop sliding backwardly upon the open latch. Figure 2 shows that in thestill further forward movement of the needle, the guide has performedits function, and-the loop is seen retained in the recess beneath theguide, from which it cannot escape except by closing the latch. In theparticular loom illustrated in Figure 2, the lay is bringing the newloop toward the needle at the same time the needle is approaching thenew loop. In Figure 3 the needle has entered the new loop. It is at itsextreme forward movement, and about to begin its retrogressive movement.The new loop will now move forward into the hook, while the originalloop will move forward, closing the latch upon the hook. Figure 4 showsa position of the needie in which the new loop is in the hook and theoriginal loop is pushing-the latch towards closed position. The nextmovement, which while not illustrated, is readily understood, is thatthe latch will close upon the hook so that the original. loop will beshed over the hook and over the loop which is retained by the hook.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to bee.preferred and practical embodiment of "the invention, it will beunderstood to those skilled in the art that the specific construction ofthe guide is by way of example. and not to be construed as limiting thescope of of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A needle for inter-looping yarns, comprising a hook, a shank, and anintermediate latch actuated by the currently formed loop to open andclose it, a guide on the shank disposed alongside thereof and positionedto engage the currently formed loop in its traverse out of the hook andalong the latch, and providing a continuously curved cam surface inproximity to the tip of the latch when in open position extending from apoint above to a point below the latch, whereby the currently formedloop is guided below the guide surface in its passage beyond the tip ofthe latch.

2. A needle for inter-looping yarns, comprising a hook, a shank, and anintermediate latch actuated by the currently formed loop to open andclose it, a guide on the shank disposed alongside thereof and positionedto engage the currently formed loop in its traverse out of the hook andalong the latch, the guide terminating in a cam surface juxtaposed tothe tip of the latch in open position and curving from a point above thetip of the latch adjacent thereto to a point below the tip of the latchaway from the end thereof, whereby the currently formed loop is guidedbelow the guide surface in its passage beyond the tip of the latch.

3. A needle for looping selvage of woven fabric comprising a hook, ashank, and an intermediate latch actuated by the currently formed loopto open and close it, a guide on the shank disposed alongside thereofand positioned to engage the currently formed loop in its' traverse outof the hook and along the latch, and providing a continuously curved camsurface in proximity to the tip of the latch when in open positionextending from a point above to a point below the latch, whereby thecurrently formed loop is guided below the guide surface in its passagebeyond the tip of the latch.

4. A needle for looping selvage of woven fabric comprising a hook, ashank and an intermediate latch actuated by the currently forrned loopto open and close it, a guide on the shank disposed along the sidethereof and positioned to engage the currently formed loop in itstraverse out ofthe hook and along the latch, the guide terminating in acam surface juxtaposed to the tip of the latch in open position andcurving from a point above the tip of the latch adjacent thereto to apoint below the tip of the latch away from the end thereof, whereby thecurrently formed p is guided below the guide surface in its passagebeyond the tip of the latch.

JONATHAN LUCAS.

